Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

The annual Student/Instructor show and sale returns to Lincroft’s Thompson Park Saturday and Sunday. Below, one of the “artistically tagged fish” up for auction at Little Silver’s Gallery Jupiter, in a Thursday evening event.

In visual art news on the Greater Red Bank Green, a couple of openings, and a gift gallery, liven up the coming weekend.

The fish are jumping (and getting a crucial jump on the weekend) in Little Silver this Thursday evening, December 1, when Gallery Jupiter (31 Church Street) invites the public to a silent auction of “a school of artistically tagged fish.” Each one-of-a-kind item is offered as a unique gifting idea, and a portion of the proceeds will be dedicated to the Sandy Hook-based nonprofit American Littoral Society and its ongoing conservational/ educational programs in defense of our regional coastline. Wine and refreshments will be served during the Thursday evening event, going on between the hours of 5 to 8 p.m. — while art lovers have plenty more opportunities to hook that elusive Perfect Gift, by reading on.

Outdoor movie screenings and canoe rentals highlight a week of outdoor offerings in local parks.

Pay no attention to those displays of back-to-school supplies, and put aside all thoughts of pre-season football, post-season baseball, and campaign-season roller derby. Yes, the summer of 2016 is still a thing (even at the Rio Olympics, where technically it’s winter), and the parks, beaches and portable stages of the Greater Red Bank Green still offer a plethora of open-air entertainments and recreational options in the coming days and nights — almost all of them free of charge.

It begins tonight, as Shore Flicks returns to Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens with an 8:15 p.m. screening of a truly golden oldie, 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.” Bring a canned food donation with those folding chairs and beach towels, pick up some cooling seasonal treats from Gracie and the Dudes, and enjoy Dorothy and the Dudes as they once again undertake the screen’s most memorable road trip. Follow Shore Flicks on Facebook or Twitter for up-to-the-minute information on weather-related cancellations or other schedule changes (including a recently added batch of fishy features at Sea Bright’s Municipal Beach) — then take it around the bend for more fun beneath the sun and stars.

Whether you’re on stay-cation — or simply navigating your way through daily life here in on the Greater Red Bank Green — there’s no denying that July offers a fairly awesome menu of open-air entertainments and recreational options. We’ve got a rundown of outdoor events — mostly free of charge — designed to entice you out of the house in the coming midsummer nights and days.

It all starts tonight, July 12, as Shore Flicks returns to Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens with an 8:15 p.m. screening of the gleefully anarchic animation “Minions.” Bring a canned food donation with those folding chairs and beach towels, and enjoy some ice cream from the newly opened Gracie and the Dudes stand in the park. Take it to our redbankgreenroundup for details on the entire summer screening schedule and weather-related updates. Then take it around the bend for more fun and adventure beneath the summer sun and stars.

Now in its fourth year, Monmouth 7s is one of the biggest showcases for Rugby in New Jersey, drawing participation from throughout the Northeast. This 2016 edition has the added excitement this year of the return of Rugby to the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.

Additionally, the Tournament will host local Olympic Day festivities which promote Team USA in advance of the 2016 Rio Summer Games. The event includes Olympic themed activities, fun for kids, an opportunity to meet former and future Olympians and more!

Live musical performances by acts including Peter V and Blues Train (above), plus displays of art by Grace Modla (below) and others, are on the bill this Saturday and Sunday, during the Creative Arts and Music Festival at Thompson Park.

It doesn’t tend to get the sort of advance press accorded parking-lot-packing events like Red Bank’s Riverfest and recent Beer Wine and Food Fest — but if you’re on the lookout for a casual, comfortable mid-spring weekend’s event in a setting that offers plenty of breathing room, free parking, free admission and a chance to join in the arty fun, you’d do well to check out the Creative Arts and Music Festival, the 2016 edition of which sets up at Thompson Park for a two-day stay, beginning at 11 a.m. this Saturday, April 30.

A presentation of the folks at the Monmouth County Park System, the rain-or-shine event spotlights the sights and sounds of some of the county’s most creatively oriented citizens, including an indoor stroll-through expo of some 20 visual artists and crafters. Also included: a slate of 14 musical acts on two stages (and in a variety of styles), with a schedule inside the park’s Theater Barn programmed by the nonprofit organization Musicians on a Mission.

Kids are invited to pet baby animals, play games and make crafts during a Young Animal Expo at Thompson Park on Saturday, May 7. Presented by The Monmouth County 4-H Association’s Livestock Club and the Monmouth County Park System, the free event runs between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The County 4-H and the Park System have also announced the dates for the 2016 Monmouth County Fair, with this year’s event scheduled for July 27 – 31.

A reminder from the folks at Monmouth Rugby Football Club that registration for the2nd Annual Shamrock Shuffleis still open, with the recreational fundraiser (a benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project) scheduled for Sunday, March 20 at Lincroft’s Thompson Park. Featured are a fun and scenic 5k run/walk loopand a 1 mile Fun Run for kids 12 and under, with prizes awarded for top runners in each age group.All registrants will receive a swag bag from our sponsors, plus an exclusive invite to a St. Patrick’s Day themed after-party (picture Guinness, corned Beef and cabbage, live music and raffles) at the club’s private Wilde Rover headquarters on Shrewsbury Avenue. Take it here to register.

Looking to give your child with special needs the best camp experience possible? Head over to the Visitor Center at Thompson Park on Tuesday, March 1 for a free information session on Camp Options for Children with Special Needs. Scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m., the session features camp directors from the Park System’s Therapeutic Recreation, Odyssey Adventure, Sports and Fitness, Fort Monmouth, Cultural Services and Nature Camps. For parents and caregivers of special needs children, it’s a chance to discover which camps best fit your child’s needs and interests, what supports are available, and how the Park System’s inclusion process works.

The Thompson Park home of the Monmouth Rugby Football Club is the setting for a special Shamrock Shuffle morning of race events on March 20, benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project.

Press release from Monmouth Rugby Football Club

Whether you choose to Run, Walk or Shuffle, you’ve got a golden opportunity to be part of a fundraising team effort on Sunday March 20, when the Monmouth Rugby Football Club hosts its second annual Shamrock Shuffle 5K Run and 1 mile Fun Run for kids.

Hosted at the Club’s home-turf playing field — Thompson Park on Newman Springs Road — the day gets underway at 9 am with a registration and packet pickup session in advance of the 10 am 5K Race/Walk. Kids 12 and under can take part in the Fun Run at 11:30 am, and an award ceremony takes place at noon, with all registrants receiving a “race day swag bag.”

When life gives you winter, make Winterfest — the second annual edition of which returns to Lincroft’s Thompson Park this Saturday afternoon (pictured is a scene from the inaugural, snow-free Fest in 2015).

Winter may have made a much-delayed appearance, all at once and with a vengeance, in a way that immediately overstayed its welcome. But to the good people of the Monmouth County Parks System, the season of bare trees and bundled-up people is something to celebrate in all its sleek and spartan beauty. So when the low winter sun comes up on Thompson Park in Lincroft this Saturday, it will look down on the newly minted ritual known as Winterfest.

Going on between the hours of 1 to 5 pm, it’s the second annual edition of the event that’s designed to “banish the winter blues,” while spotlighting the many features and assets of the county’s flagship recreational facility — and this time, they’ve remembered to bring the snow.

With a belated blast of white stuff in the forecast — anywhere from an inch to two feet, depending on which social media pal you trust about such things — the folks at the Monmouth County Park System have issued a reminder that our many nearby public facilities are standing by for snowy-weather service over the coming days, “whether you’re looking to fly down the sledding hill, strap on your cross-country skis, or lace up your ice skates.”

The groomed trails at the county’s flagship Thompson Park in Lincroft are open to cross-country skiers as weather permits — and marked, ungroomed trails are available for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at three county locales in Middletown Township: Hartshorne Woods Park, Huber Woods Park, and Tatum Park.

You never know who’ll be popping up this Sunday, when Thompson Park Day returns to the spacious park located just off Newman Springs Road.

Despite the best efforts of professional sports leagues and TV programmers to lure us all back into the great indoors, the extended season of fresh-air fun simply refuses to crawl into its burrow here on the Greater Red Bank Green. And this weekend promises two more all-ages events, designed to highlight civic pride and some wonderful natural assets in Sea Bright and Lincroft.

A Tug of War served to help students develop team-building skills, as Red Bank Regional’s Summer Slam program held a culminating day of activities at Thompson Park in Lincroft.

Press releases from Red Bank Regional High School

Over the past decade, Red Bank Regional High School has experienced remarkable academic success by every measure — with one of the primary reasons for that success taking place during the “summer vacation” month of July.

Known as Summer Slam, the freshman transition program plants the seeds of a new community of high schoolers formed from many different communities — primarily the sending towns of Red Bank, Little Silver and Shrewsbury, as well as other Monmouth County municipalities where K-8 districts offer RBR’s four-year academies as an alternative to their eighth grader’s high school choice.

With over 100 students enrolled in this voluntary program, over a third of the incoming freshman class is represented. Summer Slam is operated by The SOURCE, RBR’s School Based Youth Services Program and staffed by RBR Freshman Academy teachers.

Layonne Holmes (right) and the Motor City Revue roar into Sandy Hook as the up-next act in the summer beach concert series. Weather permitting, Tuesday night marks the twice-scheduled debut of Red Bank’s Dog Days of Summer.

[UPDATE, July 20, 2 p.m. Once again, the Dog Days event is being postponed, this time because of high temperatures, RiverCenter announced. The event is tentatively scheduled to be held Wednesday, July 22, at 6 p.m.]

Gripe all you will about summer traffic, summer crowds, summer expenses: the season for warm-weather diversion can seem especially fleeting when viewed through the frosted panes of our extended polar-vortex winters. And between Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon, we’ve got a whole range of excuses for getting out of the house, beginning with the latest in the 2015 series of Red Bank Dog Days of Summer .

It’s Climb Time in Lincroft this Tuesday afternoon, as the Monmouth County Park System moves its portable mountain to the grounds of Thompson Park for a free instructional session.

From river kayaking and bayside seining to fossil hunting, horseback riding and some challenging hillside hiking, the local facilities of the Monmouth County Park System have always offered a variety of experiences — but until very recently, mountain climbing hasn’t exactly been part of the recreational menu.

This Tuesday afternoon, June 30, the county’s flagship Thompson Park in Lincroft will serve as the scene for a free, three hour introduction to the basics of climbing — supervised by park personnel, and hosted within the safe and controlled environment of the Park System’s portable 25-foot climbing wall.

The first of four public meetings on the preservation and repurposing of Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, including the bayside Officers’ Row, above, will be held Friday in Lincroft.

For more than 70 years, it stood at the ready, protecting lower New York Harbor and the northern Jersey Shore from invasion by sea. Between its founding in 1898 and its decommissioning in 1974, the United States Army base at Fort Hancock was a center of activity at the northern tip of Sandy Hook — and today its landmark buildings await decisions on their preservation and ultimate repurposing.

This Friday, June 26, members of the public are welcome to attend the first in a series of four meetings of the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee, hosted inside the Visitors Center at Thompson Park, Newman Springs Road in Lincroft. Committee members will be joined by representatives of Gateway National Recreation Area, the federal Landmark District that includes the entire Sandy Hook peninsula. Scheduled to commence at 9 am, the meeting will include a regularly scheduled public comment period that begins at 11:30.

More than 400 ruggers from 45 sides will compete for championship hardware in seven brackets – including men, women, and high school boys and girls – in the daylong ruggerfest hosted by Red Bank’s own Monmouth Rugby Football Club.

One out of seven pregnant and new moms will experience Postpartum Depression/Anxiety, yet only 15 percent of them will seek help. On Saturday, June 20, Postpartum Progress, a national nonprofit organization focused on vastly improving awareness of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression, will hold the third annual Climb out of the Darkness — an event, traditionally held around the longest day of the year, designed to raise awareness of all maternal mental illnesses.

As part of the Climb, survivors all over the world — dubbed Warrior Moms — are organizing to climb, hike or walk at a local mountain or park to symbolize their collective rise out of the darkness and stigma of maternal mental illnesses, as well as to raise funds for Postpartum Progress. At 10 am on the morning of June 20, Thompson Park in Lincroft will serve as the scene for The Monmouth Medical Center Climb Out of Darkness.

Nature photography by Colin Seitz is on the program for the first annual Spring Arts Festival at Thompson Park, May 2 and 3 — part of a weekend in which the county Parks System debuts its directory of summertime programs and activities.

Press release from Monmouth County Park System

Go on a kayak birding exhibition, build a fairy house in the garden, enjoy a twilight adventure around the campfire. It’s all within reach this summer, as the Monmouth County Park System introduces its annual summertime slate of arts & crafts, nature, recreation and sports programs.

Friday sees the publication of the Park System’s Program Directory summer issue. Available at most parks in the county system — including Thompson Park, Tatum Park, Deep Cut Gardens and Bayshore Waterfront Park, all in Middletown Township — the directory lists all special events and programs offered during June, July and August. Registration for summer programs begins on Wednesday, May 6 at 8 am. Online registration is available for most programs. Take it here or consult the directoryfor details about registering online, by phone, by mail or in person — and take it around the corner for details on an exciting all-new event going on during the first weekend in May.

Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown is the scene for the Great Spring Perennial Plant Swap, just one of several special events going on at Monmouth County Park System facilities this Earth Day weekend.

April 22 marked the 45th annual observance of Earth Day — but with our not-always-gently-used home planet in need of more TLC than ever before, the people of the Monmouth County Park System are extending the observance into the coming weekend, offering several different ways to raise awareness of local earth-friendly programs, all while enjoying several genuine public jewels of the greater Red Bank Green.

It starts on Saturday with a couple of special springtime events, and continues through Sunday at Monmouth County Park sites in Middletown Township.

The Thompson Park home pitch of the Monmouth Rugby Football Club is the setting for a special Shamrock Shuffle to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project on Sunday.

You can run your way to helping out a veteran. You can walk your way to glory. You can shuffle on over to the after-party, too. But the important thing is that you step outside this Sunday, when Red Bank’s Monmouth Rugby Football Club hosts the Shamrock Shuffle 5K and 1 mile Kids’ Fun Run.

It’s all happening at the club’s home field playing venue, Thompson Park on Newman Springs Road in Lincroft — and it gets underway at 9 am with a registration and packet pickup session in advance of the 10 am 5K Race/Walk. Kids 12 and under can take part in the Fun Run at 11:30 am, and an award ceremony takes place at noon, with all registrants receiving a “race day swag bag.”

Then at 12:30, the St. Patrick’s Day-themed afterparty kicks off at the private Wilde Rover clubhouse on Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank, a public-welcome event that promises live music, Guinness, corned beef and cabbage, plus raffle prizes for both kids and adults.

Looking to give your special needs child the best camp experience possible? Head over to Thompson Park in Lincroft, between the hours of 6:30 to 8 pm on Tuesday, March 3, for a presentation entitled Camp Options for Children with Special Needs.

Hosted inside the park’s Visitors Center, the informational session features camp directors from the Monmouth County Park System’s Therapeutic Recreation, Odyssey Adventure, Sports and Fitness, Fort Monmouth, Cultural Services and Nature Camps. Parents and guardians can discover which camps best fit their child’s needs and interests; what supports are available, and how the Park System’s inclusion process works.

The Thompson Park hometurf of the Monmouth Rugby Football Club is the setting for a special Shamrock Shuffle morning of race events on March 15, benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project.

You can Run your way to helping out a veteran. You can accomplish the same goal with a Walk. You can even Shuffle your way to glory, but the important thing is that you come out on Sunday, March 15, when the Monmouth Rugby Football Club hosts the Shamrock Shuffle 5K Run and 1 mile Kids’ Fun Run.

It’s all happening at the Club’s home field playing venue, Thompson Park on Newman Springs Road in Lincroft — and it all gets underway at 9 am with a registration and packet pickup session in advance of the 10 am 5K Race/Walk. Kids 12 and under can take part in the Fun Run at 11:30 am, and an award ceremony takes place at noon, with all registrants receiving a “race day swag bag.”

Then at 12:30, the St. Patrick’s Day themed after-party kicks off at the private Wilde Rover clubhouse on Shrewsbury Avenue, with live music, Guinness, corned beef and cabbage, plus raffle prizes for both kids and adults.

Proceeds from the event will go to support the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following the events of September 11, 2001, as well as for their family members.

When life gives you winter, make Winterfest — the inaugural celebration of which happens at Lincroft’s Thompson Park this Saturday afternoon.

“Cross your fingers and hope for snow!” reads the perky press release for Winterfest, a celebration of the season that arrives at Lincroft’s Thompson Park for a first-ever edition this Saturday, January 10. A presentation of the Monmouth County Parks System, the event is designed to “banish the winter blues” with a wonderland of outdoor activities that range from a Frozen-themed scavenger hunt and broomball games for the kids, to cross-country ski and snowshoe clinics for grownup trekkers (with gear rentals available).

There’s a great deal more to be found under the weak winter sun between the hours of 1:30 and 5:30 pm — including such all-ages diversions as ice skating (bring your own skates), horse-drawn sleigh rides, a snowman building contest and snowball fight — much of it weather-permitting of course, but with enough snowless fun (winter crafts, costume character parade) to make it worth a visit.

Silent auction gift baskets await inspection during the recent Holiday Bazaar at Christ Church in Shrewsbury. For those who missed it, there are many more craft shows, artisan fairs and gift boutiques going on around the greater Green this weekend.

There’s an open-house glimpse into the wondrous workshop of a leading Red Bank artist. Unique handcrafted gifts, unexpectedly encountered at a pair of county parks in Middletown. Floral arrangements in Shrewsbury; fine art pieces by the area’s best-known creatives in Little Silver. All around the villages and hamlets of the greater Red Bank Green, a dedicated core of neighbors seeks to combat the seasonal brainfreeze of “shopper’s block;” seeding inspiration for gift-givers who want to think outside the big-box store for the special ones on their list — and it’s all happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Just weeks after hosting her annual Art Show and Sale at Mudslingers Pottery, master potter Lauren Bellero takes part in a special Holiday Open House event this Friday, December 5. Between the hours of 3 to 9 pm, shoppers on a quest for something truly unique can visit 12 Oak Street in Lincroft to select from a display of the artist’s award winning pit-fired decorative creations (candle holders, vases, bowls and more) and glazed cookware — or visit the Mudslingers website to make an appointment.

Open for business at picturesque Poricy Park this weekend, the Nature Conservancy’s Holiday and Craft Shop offers up an array of locally sourced wood, pottery, crochet, fine art and home decor items, available for purchase between the hours of 11 am to 4 pm on December 5, 6 and 7. They’ll be doing it all again next weekend too, with shop hours on December 12, 13 and 14 — but there’s much more to see this weekend, with details around the bend.

12.09 - Winter Festival with Live Nativity at All Saints Church All Saints Episcopal (the historic Old Stone Church in Navesink) announces their 1st annual ' rain or shine' Winter Festival, with Live Nativity presented in the church's historic carriage sheds. Also featured will be hot cocoa or cider, face painting for the kids, gift vendors (fresh wreaths, homemade baked goods and candy, hand knitted items and more). Free admission; bring a nonperishable food items for local food pantry.

12.13 - Red Bank Board of Education Work Session Open agenda preparation work session meetings, held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Middle School Media Center. Executive Session begins at 7 pm, and the Public Session begins at 7:30 pm. Time: 7:30 pm